ENHANCED SORPTION OF Cu(II) IONS FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION BY IONIC LIQUID IMPREGNATED NANO-SILICA AND NANO-ALUMINA PARTICLES

In this study, the improvement of the Cu (II) ion sorption performance of nano-silica and nano-alumina particles was investigated by the impregnation of 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide [Emim(+)Tf(2)N] ionic liquid (IL). The immobilization process of IL was achieved via the ultrasound-assisted physical impregnation method. The structural and morphological characterization of the adsorbents was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The thermal stability of the ionic liquid impregnated nanoparticles was also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of the loading ratio (L-R) and the son/cation time (t(D)) on the sorption performance of the modified nanoparticles were investigated. The efficient adsorption was obtained by using the particles containing IL at the loading ratio (mL-IL/g-part) of 0.5:1. And the optimum value for the son/cation time was chosen as 15 min in ethanol media. The sorption performances of the nanoparticles were enhanced by impregnation up to 92% in the aqueous media. The sorption equilibrium behaviour of the modified nanoparticles was also evaluated. The experimental data indicated that the equilibrium behaviour was in line with the Langmuir sorption isotherms.